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Double staked my dog in the qual and open at 29 mo old. Went out in the 1st of the qual jammed the open. I do not run a lot of trials. My dog and myself would have been much better off running quals the next season but were forced out with the open jam. Now I guess I should have just trained my butt of the following year and not run any opens but thought if we did it once we can do it again. Came close a couple times but I think we would have been much better off in the qual.

Don't dogpile for my comment. It discourages the HT folks from giving FT a try. If you want to attract new blood change this area.
Every time I think about entering a Qual I look and see the Pros entered and think why brother and don't want to embarrass myself. This not a criticism,but that is the prevailing attitude amougst my HT friends.

Any trial I run I dont even think about the who Im running against. It's me and my dog against the test just like a hunt test. You have to be able to complete the test before you can beat the other dogs

I am one of those with a young (3 year old) QAA dog (with a 2nd place finish) that still runs the Qual and probably will until I win two Quals. The reason? I am new to the trial game and this is the first dog I have ever trialed with. I do my own training and occasionally train with a pro 1 day a week. I am running the Qual to get more experience in trials for myself and probably less for the dog. As Dr Ed said, I think there is an advantage to running 4 series in an event instead of the one and done experience we would get in an AA stake. I learn on every trial, get to see a lot of different judges and set ups and I am getting more relaxed with the trial scene running the qual. Last year my dog placed (2nd,3rd & 4th) in 3 quals and jammed 3 more quals out of 8 attempts. I have seen advice before to newbies like myself to just stay at the qual level until you win out....it is the best for you and your dog. I do have to admit, I have dreams about running AA, but am not sure when to move up and try it. I think I have time to gain more experience in the qual and it seems to me the dogs that do well in AA are older dogs in the 5+ year range...so I will probably still run my dog as a 3 year old in the qual this coming summer and probably try AA when she is 4. Make any sense? As I said I am still learning.

I have a little different slant.....I'm of the opinion that running a dog in a trial at any level does nothing good for a dog. To follow with that belief, I only enter events because I want the experience along side the dog, experience under particular judges, run on particular grounds (as well as compete, qualify for a nat'l etc) - and for the most part would not consider any of those things relative to minor stakes. To continue, since I think running a dog in a trial is not good for the dog, I enter as few minor stakes as I can while gaining experience with that dog (is he better, more hyper, less focused, more given to bad habits, etc than in training). So if I happen to get a dog qualifed by placing 1st or 2nd in a minor stake, I will not run that dog again until he is ready to run AA stakes....JMO. And like the OP, I do scratch my head at Q entries where the dogs are qualifed and the handlers experienced.

Noticing that a good many pups both amateur and pro handled that are entered in Qualifying Stakes that have previous 1st or 2nd placements that supposedly make them QAA. Are they running for experience before moving on to the major stakes or some other motivation that isn't apparent? What do you see as the motivation?

First, there are older dogs who simply lack either the talent or training to be successful in the All Age Stakes. Their owners simply enjoy participation in Field Trials, and like being able to run 4 series on a weekend

Second, there are the young up and comers (sometimes still in the derby), whose owners want to give their dogs an opportunity to run 4 series and have success before they beat their head against the wall in the All Age Stakes

Third, there are dogs that simply need the confidence that going 4 series brings them

Contrary to what others have said, I do not believe that Field Trials only introduce bad habits to dogs.

Rather, I find that there are some dogs, who need the excitement of competition to help them understand why we train. There are dogs whose training attitude and aptitude increase significantly after they find success - in any stake.

Why force a dog to stop running the Q after it has become QAA?
Why force a dog to stop running after it has qualified for the National Open? The National Am? Why can't people get to enjoy their dogs - at whatever level?

First, there are older dogs who simply lack either the talent or training to be successful in the All Age Stakes. Their owners simply enjoy participation in Field Trials, and like being able to run 4 series on a weekend

Second, there are the young up and comers (sometimes still in the derby), whose owners want to give their dogs an opportunity to run 4 series and have success before they beat their head against the wall in the All Age Stakes

Third, there are dogs that simply need the confidence that going 4 series brings them

Contrary to what others have said, I do not believe that Field Trials only introduce bad habits to dogs.

Rather, I find that there are some dogs, who need the excitement of competition to help them understand why we train. There are dogs whose training attitude and aptitude increase significantly after they find success - in any stake.

Why force a dog to stop running the Q after it has become QAA?
Why force a dog to stop running after it has qualified for the National Open? The National Am? Why can't people get to enjoy their dogs - at whatever level?

x2

I have one that needs the trial environment. Not all dogs need or react the same. Its great that we can choose to keep running Q's or move on up.

'I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice, not in a game.' - Bear Bryant / Alabama

First, there are older dogs who simply lack either the talent or training to be successful in the All Age Stakes. Their owners simply enjoy participation in Field Trials, and like being able to run 4 series on a weekend

.......

Rather, I find that there are some dogs, who need the excitement of competition to help them understand why we train. There are dogs whose training attitude and aptitude increase significantly after they find success - in any stake.

Why force a dog to stop running the Q after it has become QAA?
Why force a dog to stop running after it has qualified for the National Open? The National Am? Why can't people get to enjoy their dogs - at whatever level?